On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Synopsis

Far up! Far out! Far more! James Bond 007 is back!

James Bond tracks archnemesis Ernst Blofeld to a mountaintop retreat where he's training an army of beautiful but lethal women. Along the way, Bond falls for Italian contessa Tracy Draco -- and marries her in order to get closer to Blofeld. Meanwhile, he locates Blofeld in the Alps and embarks on a classic ski chase.

M here again. As you were. OHMSS is a Bond film unlike any other, so much so, it doesn’t even feel completely like a Bond Film at all. Though it features most of things that we have come to expect, OHMSS seems like an attempt to take the franchise in a new direction. It is more heavily character driven than the other films and even the cinematography feels completely different. Introducing a new Bond in George Lazenby and a different spin on the storytelling, OHMSS would go down as a one and done, never to be repeated. What follows is my mission debriefing, I hope you enjoy.

The Opening: Our new Bond is introduced while pursuing this installment’s Bond Girl,…

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is something of an anomaly in the Bond franchise. Not only is it George Lazenby's only time at bat as the iconic British secret agent, it also shies away from some of the tropes and general silliness that was coming to define the series. After one of the wackiest installment in You Only Live Twice, the powers that be seem to have decided that Bond needed to be a bit more serious, but in trying to cut down on the nonsense they seem to also be cutting down on what makes these movies what they are. Most significant to my mind is the lack of a song during…

I never heard of this movie until a few months ago thanks in part to Travis Lytle (See his profile right here and give him a follow while your at it! letterboxd.com/chavrosbaby/) and thought it seemed interesting given how much high praise he had for it.

So since I saw it was Amazon Instant Prime (It sadly leaves it today), I figured I'd give it a watch. I haven't seen much of the James Bond franchise outside of two of the Craig films and one of Brosnan's, but I've always wanted to check them out for awhile now.

Anyway, movie itself? Pretty solid in spite of some short comings which mostly come from technical issues from the time. For one,…

This film proves that the villain's master plan has no correlation with the quality of a James Bond film. Without a doubt Blofeld's conquest for world domination this time around might be the dumbest idea yet, but it doesn't matter. The fact that he has a plan that needs to be stopped is all that really matters because the real story is the chase this time around.

It's also the first James Bond film without Sean Connery, and I must say I love the opening sequence where they introduce George Lazenby. His face is obscured…

With its sense of fun, its riveting action, its handsome aesthetic, and its emotional resonance, Peter R. Hunt's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" sets a high-water mark that the James Bond franchise has yet to meet again. Both reinventing and reflecting on the what has come before it with a new leading man, a compelling leading lady, and a mature sensibility, while staying true to established form, not only is the film the best of the Bonds; but "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is an excellent film in its own right. Thrilling, good looking, and smart, the film is an outstanding piece of action cinema.

The narrative follows James Bond on another globe-trotting adventure and bears the traditional marks of…

This somehow reminded me of how back in the sixties ABC interpreted Batman and translated it to the legendary TV series. It is insane, camp and quite absurd.

The plot is completely out there. Blofeld (a rather bland Savalas) has a harem of hypnotized honeys and other insane shenanigans up his sleeve to achieve world domination. Bond thwarts his plans by making love to a lot of women, skiing a lot and delivering the most hilarious one liners whenever possible ('I have four golden balls. Would you like to see them?' I'm so going to steal that line)

The action betrays its age but is really well done and at points very exciting.…

Besides being the black sheep of the Bond films, this is an enthralling entry. The big shortcoming with this franchise is making 007 a three dimensional character that you give a fuck about and making a coherent and interesting enough plot. OHMSS gives you all of that and more.

I think a great deal of credit goes to Lazenby. the fact that he wasn't an actor ends up being a huge advantage as he delivers a great deal of warmth and evokes an "every man-ness" to the spy that makes stakes that much higher and the ending that much more devastating. I don't think Connery could have pulled this film off.

Such an oddly (and fast) edited film. I really dig it considering that this franchise is really known for taking its time. Plus the Synth-induced score and Louis Armstrong song are big pluses.

I'm not exactly a James Bond expert, but I'm pretty sure George Lazenby is universally considered the best 007. This entry suffers a bit from some dated special effects and general silliness, both exemplified in some exciting skiing scenes featuring obvious blue screens and a plummeting dummy. Still, they're thrilling scenes. There's also a pretty bitchin' icy car chase. Aside from some effects, this also suffers from a few cliches, including the whole bad-guy-giving-away-all-his-plans-and-refusing-to-instantly-dispose-of-the-good-guy thing. You know, like in almost every episode of the Batman television show. But I imagine people don't really watch James Bond movies for the realism. This movie does have some nice stylistic touches--there's a whistling midget (what they were called back in '69), some cool…

A highly underrated classic Bond film. Lazenby’s Bond feels more like a spy than Connery’s, playing a woman’s affections by rote, but still having a human heart and emotions of his own. The action sequences are plentiful and very well done, and Diana Rigg’s Tracy is one of the most empowered Bond women yet. To this point, the movies have mostly stood alone, but this one begs a follow up. The main criticism is that they openly court comparisons in casting in the first few minutes, with a one liner and a montage of previous films in the opening credits. Well worth checking out for franchise fans.

After being really disappointed with "You Only Live Twice", this sixth instalment of the "Bond" EOD franchise, gets the series back on track and is the first great entry since "Goldfinger". The replacement of George Lazenby over Sean Connery as 007 might have deterred audiences upon it's original release (and still to this day), yet this proved that the reason people love this series is for the characters themselves and the world they inhabit which is full of action, evil people, romance and tragedy. I can understand how some hail this as the best of the series, but for me it is let down by some choppy editing, Blofeld's silly plan and…

I've come to accept that there will be no character development from film to film in this series, but something I would like to see is great character moments between the characters even if it doesn't affect the rest of the series. This film actually has a few of those. Unfortunately they are undercut by terrible acting on Lazenby's part and a terrible ending that sees Bond finally settle down only to have his wife shot in the head on their wedding day.

First thing's first: Sean Connery was a better Bond than George Lazenby. Lazenby lacks a certain cool collectedness, and his acting is often subpar. He's not bad, but Connery was definitely better. With that out of the way, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was still pretty good. I like that the franchise is constantly evolving and changing to keep it from getting stale. The lengthy undercover segment and distinct lack of gadgets are refreshing for the series. The skiing segment is really impressive and cool, making it one of the most exciting action sequences of the franchise. As usual, the set designs and music are on point. The relationship between Bond and Tracy feels…